The Women's Premier League aka women's IPL has created history even before the first player has gone under the hammer. Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) bagged a mind-boggling Rs 4,669.88 crore by selling rights of just five franchises for next 10 years (2023-2032). Hence, WPL has broken the record of total sum spent to buy eight franchises for IPL 2008.
In 2008, the franchise auction fetched a total of 723.59 million dollars which translates to Rs 3,148.34 crore approximately (as per one dollar to Rs 43.51 exchange rate in 2008).
The most expensive franchise in 2008 was Mumbai Indians which was brought for 111.9 million dollars by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries. Here is a look at the prices of franchises in IPL 2008 –
Royal Challengers Bangalore – 111.6 million dollars (Rs 485.57 crore)
Chennai Super Kings – 91 million dollars (Rs 395.94 crore)
Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) – 84 million dollars (Rs 365.48 crore)
Deccan Chargers (now-defunct) – 107 million dollars (Rs 465.56 crore)
Rajasthan Royals – 67 million dollars (Rs 291.52 crore)
Kolkata Knight Riders – 75.09 million dollars (Rs 326.72 crore)
Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) – 76 million dollars (Rs 330.1 crore)
Mumbai Indians – 111.9 million dollars (Rs 486.88 crore)
Here is a look at new teams in WPL (one dollar = Rs 81.59) –
Ahmedabad (Adani) - Rs 1,289 crore (157.98 million dollars)
Mumbai (Reliance) - Rs 912 crore (111.78 million dollars)
Bangalore (Diageo) - Rs 901 crore (110.43 million dollars)
Lucknow (Capri Global) - Rs 757 crore (92.78 million dollars)
Delhi (DC franchise) - Rs 810 crore (99.28 million dollars)
Even the least expensive franchise of WPL is more expensive than the most expensive franchise in IPL 2008.
What Jay Shah said
"The BCCI has named the league - Women's Premier League (WPL). Let the journey begin.
"Today is a historic day in cricket as the bidding for teams of inaugural #WPL broke the records of the inaugural Men's IPL in 2008. This marks the beginning of a revolution in women's cricket and paves the way for a transformative journey ahead not only for our women cricketers but for the entire sports fraternity.
"The #WPL would bring necessary reforms in women's cricket and would ensure an all-encompassing ecosystem that benefits each and every stakeholder," BCCI secretary Shah said in a series of tweets.
Note: All the figures mentioned above are approximate
